[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"sanity-6WKUWmLbYtYXbyyVsc2jiAuDOwPRwNpo7ULcKBzNtxA":3,"sanity-DEVKXtm3eMLyXYhJnxxRPOal3lh_MXW7FbBplRQw_DU":620},{"data":4,"sourceMap":-1},{"latestPodcast":5,"latestReleases":14,"post":39,"recent":595},[6],{"_id":7,"publishedAt":8,"slug":9,"sponsored":12,"title":13},"d53f9358-3bb2-4f69-aebe-d31d19522cd4","2026-07-10T07:40:00.000Z",{"_type":10,"current":11},"slug","building-more-than-just-an-agent-harness",null,"Building more than just an agent harness",[15,21,27,33],{"_id":16,"publishedAt":17,"slug":18,"title":20},"eb5b66eb-9410-4329-83bb-22bbff39402a","2026-04-28T13:00:00.000Z",{"_type":10,"current":19},"turn-scattered-knowledge-into-trusted-intelligence","Turning scattered knowledge into trusted intelligence: Stack Internal 2026.3",{"_id":22,"publishedAt":23,"slug":24,"title":26},"369c2401-b62e-4a37-8ff8-bf603023ecad","2026-03-02T15:03:00.988Z",{"_type":10,"current":25},"what-s-new-at-stack-overflow-march-2026","What’s new at Stack Overflow: March 2026",{"_id":28,"publishedAt":29,"slug":30,"title":32},"5e9053a4-07ea-447c-91ea-29e0b6228537","2026-02-02T15:00:00.000Z",{"_type":10,"current":31},"what-s-new-at-stack-overflow-february-2026","What’s new at Stack Overflow: February 2026",{"_id":34,"publishedAt":35,"slug":36,"title":38},"a1b538eb-a8a6-46d0-80a1-ac70ec9bb935","2026-01-05T10:00:00.000-05:00",{"_type":10,"current":37},"what-s-new-at-stack-overflow-january-2026","What’s new at Stack Overflow: January 2026",{"_createdAt":40,"_id":41,"_rev":42,"_type":43,"_updatedAt":44,"author":45,"body":62,"comments":567,"dateUrl":568,"excerpt":182,"legacyBody":569,"product":12,"publishedAt":572,"slug":573,"sponsored":12,"tags":575,"title":594,"visible":567},"2023-05-25T09:36:59Z","wp-post-3879","dgl3SCUzppW3U2LvCoSAPk","blogPost","2023-07-13T14:54:36Z",[46],{"_createdAt":47,"_id":48,"_rev":49,"_type":50,"_updatedAt":51,"avatar":52,"employee":57,"name":58,"role":59,"slug":60},"2023-05-23T16:27:18Z","wp-author-143","dgl3SCUzppW3U2LvCpwE8S","blogAuthor","2023-08-30T11:53:37Z",{"_type":53,"asset":54},"image",{"_ref":55,"_type":56},"image-23171d00b529b2fd376b3ea5a7ac47e3250b60f0-1024x1024-png","reference","former","Robert Cartaino","Director of Community Development",{"current":61},"rcartaino",[63,86,105,117,128,153,178,183,199,207,247,263,271,298,306,330,354,362,410,418,430,438,467,475,479,506,533],{"_key":64,"_type":65,"children":66,"markDefs":81,"style":85},"5295a8e7d54e","block",[67,72,77],{"_key":68,"_type":69,"marks":70,"text":71},"5295a8e7d54e0","span",[],"Update: we ultimately ",{"_key":73,"_type":69,"marks":74,"text":76},"5295a8e7d54e1",[75],"c93096d87a29","put this to a vote",{"_key":78,"_type":69,"marks":79,"text":80},"5295a8e7d54e2",[]," on each community.",[82],{"_key":75,"_type":83,"href":84,"reference":12},"link","http:\u002F\u002Fblog.stackoverflow.com\u002F2010\u002F08\u002Fshould-unix-linux-and-ubuntu-be-merged-vote\u002F","normal",{"_key":87,"_type":65,"children":88,"markDefs":102,"style":85},"03beabcc620c",[89,93,98],{"_key":90,"_type":69,"marks":91,"text":92},"03beabcc620c0",[],"You may have noticed that two similar ",{"_key":94,"_type":69,"marks":95,"text":97},"03beabcc620c1",[96],"eaa208e51c52","Area 51",{"_key":99,"_type":69,"marks":100,"text":101},"03beabcc620c2",[]," site proposals have reached commitment and launched betas:",[103],{"_key":96,"_type":83,"href":104,"reference":12},"http:\u002F\u002Farea51.stackexchange.com",{"_key":106,"_type":65,"children":107,"markDefs":113,"style":116},"9f64739a9e65",[108],{"_key":109,"_type":69,"marks":110,"text":112},"9f64739a9e650",[111],"6bd86581e5df","ubuntu.stackexchange.com",[114],{"_key":111,"_type":83,"href":115,"reference":12},"http:\u002F\u002Fubuntu.stackexchange.com","h2",{"_key":118,"_type":65,"children":119,"markDefs":125,"style":116},"35181ec2e76e",[120],{"_key":121,"_type":69,"marks":122,"text":124},"35181ec2e76e0",[123],"7b4bb9fd90e8","unix.stackexchange.com",[126],{"_key":123,"_type":83,"href":127,"reference":12},"http:\u002F\u002Funix.stackexchange.com",{"_key":129,"_type":65,"children":130,"markDefs":152,"style":85},"f300d117788d",[131,135,140,144,148],{"_key":132,"_type":69,"marks":133,"text":134},"f300d117788d0",[],"You might well ask: ",{"_key":136,"_type":69,"marks":137,"text":139},"f300d117788d1",[138],"em","aren't these the very same thing?",{"_key":141,"_type":69,"marks":142,"text":143},"f300d117788d2",[]," Why have two communities on the same topic? What, then, is the difference between unix and ubuntu? The answer to this question cuts to the very heart of what community ",{"_key":145,"_type":69,"marks":146,"text":147},"f300d117788d3",[138],"is",{"_key":149,"_type":69,"marks":150,"text":151},"f300d117788d4",[],".",[],{"_key":154,"_type":65,"children":155,"markDefs":177,"style":85},"1a53ebe94a9c",[156,160,165,169,173],{"_key":157,"_type":69,"marks":158,"text":159},"1a53ebe94a9c0",[],"I sometimes wonder what Stack Exchange would look like in an alternate universe; one where we, as Evil Stack Overflow Inc., ",{"_key":161,"_type":69,"marks":162,"text":164},"1a53ebe94a9c1",[163],"strong","bypassed the community-process of Area 51 and came up with our ",{"_key":166,"_type":69,"marks":167,"text":168},"1a53ebe94a9c2",[163,138],"own",{"_key":170,"_type":69,"marks":171,"text":172},"1a53ebe94a9c3",[163]," site ideas",{"_key":174,"_type":69,"marks":175,"text":176},"1a53ebe94a9c4",[],"; a series of logical subjects, neatly organized into their own Q&A sites.",[],{"_key":179,"_type":53,"alt":12,"asset":180,"caption":182,"markDefs":12},"fbf90a64a3e3",{"_ref":181,"_type":56},"image-ac71dd81b737c8d2504df41ff6b63992da3b61f2-500x393-jpg","",{"_key":184,"_type":65,"children":185,"markDefs":198,"style":85},"e8f335503ab9",[186,190,194],{"_key":187,"_type":69,"marks":188,"text":189},"e8f335503ab90",[],"As Evil Stack Overflow, Inc, would the process be faster and more efficient? Would the network be better organized with less overlap? That's how I ",{"_key":191,"_type":69,"marks":192,"text":193},"e8f335503ab91",[138],"originally",{"_key":195,"_type":69,"marks":196,"text":197},"e8f335503ab92",[]," envisioned Stack Exchange; we would come up with ideas for sites, find the top experts in the field, and publicize them with our networking savvy and irresistible charm.",[],{"_key":200,"_type":65,"children":201,"markDefs":206,"style":116},"7f8e71bd503b",[202],{"_key":203,"_type":69,"marks":204,"text":205},"7f8e71bd503b0",[],"Ubuntu: One for the Community",[],{"_key":208,"_type":65,"children":209,"markDefs":244,"style":85},"86b41e509b80",[210,214,218,222,227,231,236,240],{"_key":211,"_type":69,"marks":212,"text":213},"86b41e509b800",[],"My evil counterpart (the one in that alternate universe) would have never have even ",{"_key":215,"_type":69,"marks":216,"text":217},"86b41e509b801",[138],"considered",{"_key":219,"_type":69,"marks":220,"text":221},"86b41e509b802",[]," creating a site for ",{"_key":223,"_type":69,"marks":224,"text":226},"86b41e509b803",[225],"674174c473c2","Ubuntu",{"_key":228,"_type":69,"marks":229,"text":230},"86b41e509b804",[],", separate from the larger scope of a ",{"_key":232,"_type":69,"marks":233,"text":235},"86b41e509b805",[234],"a32f6865c114","Unix & Linux site",{"_key":237,"_type":69,"marks":238,"text":239},"86b41e509b806",[],". They are essentially the same technology. Surely it is better — or so my evil counterpart would have thought — to combine the resources of Ubuntu and Linux users into a larger site, organized with tags, and everybody would win. ",{"_key":241,"_type":69,"marks":242,"text":243},"86b41e509b807",[163],"And that would have been disastrous.",[245,246],{"_key":225,"_type":83,"href":115,"reference":12},{"_key":234,"_type":83,"href":127,"reference":12},{"_key":248,"_type":65,"children":249,"markDefs":262,"style":85},"a5f1d0a15a57",[250,254,258],{"_key":251,"_type":69,"marks":252,"text":253},"a5f1d0a15a570",[],"The speed of Ubuntu's progress should have been my first clue. Despite being proposed nearly two weeks ",{"_key":255,"_type":69,"marks":256,"text":257},"a5f1d0a15a571",[138],"after",{"_key":259,"_type":69,"marks":260,"text":261},"a5f1d0a15a572",[]," the Linux site, Ubuntu raced past Linux, reaching full commitment in a nearly-record-breaking 38 days.",[],{"_key":264,"_type":65,"children":265,"markDefs":270,"style":85},"510699849bc2",[266],{"_key":267,"_type":69,"marks":268,"text":269},"510699849bc20",[],"Web Applications 36 daysGaming 36 daysUbuntu 38 daysFood and Cooking 41 daysGame Development 41 daysPro Webmasters 44 daysPhotography 47 daysMathematics 48 daysElectronic Gadgets 51 daysGIS 54 daysTeX 55 daysUser Interface 55 daysStatistical Analysis 55 daysHome Improvement 63 daysPersonal Finance and Money 65 daysEnglish Language & Usage 67 daysWordPress Answers 71 days",[],{"_key":272,"_type":65,"children":273,"markDefs":295,"style":85},"9fe97fd78b7c",[274,278,283,287,291],{"_key":275,"_type":69,"marks":276,"text":277},"9fe97fd78b7c0",[],"I thought, \"Surely there is something going horribly wrong with the process.\" Perhaps the Ubuntu users simply did not see the Linux proposal. Or maybe they didn't understand how well the larger community would scale or how well tagging worked. I had written the blog post \"",{"_key":279,"_type":69,"marks":280,"text":282},"9fe97fd78b7c1",[281],"19a4580c4ee2","Trust the Community",{"_key":284,"_type":69,"marks":285,"text":286},"9fe97fd78b7c2",[],"\" barely a month before, but still I had my doubts that Area 51 was working in this case. The proposal process is still lacking somewhat in meta communications, especially ",{"_key":288,"_type":69,"marks":289,"text":290},"9fe97fd78b7c3",[138],"between",{"_key":292,"_type":69,"marks":293,"text":294},"9fe97fd78b7c4",[]," proposals. Maybe that was it.",[296],{"_key":281,"_type":83,"href":297,"reference":12},"https:\u002F\u002Fblog.stackexchange.com\u002F2010\u002F06\u002Farea-51-trusting-the-community\u002F",{"_key":299,"_type":65,"children":300,"markDefs":305,"style":116},"e33c6a9356f7",[301],{"_key":302,"_type":69,"marks":303,"text":304},"e33c6a9356f70",[],"Does Area 51 Still Work?",[],{"_key":307,"_type":65,"children":308,"markDefs":329,"style":85},"b4c04074cd0d",[309,313,317,321,325],{"_key":310,"_type":69,"marks":311,"text":312},"b4c04074cd0d0",[],"When it was clear that both the Unix and Ubuntu proposals were both moving forward, we decided to step outside the typical Area 51 process and email (at random) a few dozen Ubuntu supporters ",{"_key":314,"_type":69,"marks":315,"text":316},"b4c04074cd0d1",[163],"asking ",{"_key":318,"_type":69,"marks":319,"text":320},"b4c04074cd0d2",[163,138],"why",{"_key":322,"_type":69,"marks":323,"text":324},"b4c04074cd0d3",[163]," they committed to the Ubuntu proposal and not the Linux proposal",{"_key":326,"_type":69,"marks":327,"text":328},"b4c04074cd0d4",[],":",[],{"_key":331,"_type":65,"children":332,"markDefs":350,"style":353},"50e5759511bb",[333,337,342,346],{"_key":334,"_type":69,"marks":335,"text":336},"50e5759511bb0",[],"Dear Ubuntu Supporter,\n\n\n\nWe are about to launch the Area 51 proposal for \"Ubuntu\": ",{"_key":338,"_type":69,"marks":339,"text":341},"50e5759511bb1",[340],"b230d26d0957","area51.stackexchange.com\u002Fproposals\u002F7716\u002Fubuntu",{"_key":343,"_type":69,"marks":344,"text":345},"50e5759511bb2",[],".\n\n\n\nBut before we launch it, there has been a bit of discussion about whether members would be interested in merging it into a more generic Unix\u002FLinux site. We are looking at whether more needs to be done to make sure the community is getting what they want or is the Ubuntu proposal ready to go as-is.\n\n\n\n",{"_key":347,"_type":69,"marks":348,"text":349},"50e5759511bb3",[138],"Stack Exchange Team",[351],{"_key":340,"_type":83,"href":352,"reference":12},"http:\u002F\u002Farea51.stackexchange.com\u002Fproposals\u002F7716\u002Fubuntu","blockquote",{"_key":355,"_type":65,"children":356,"markDefs":361,"style":85},"78dedee84f90",[357],{"_key":358,"_type":69,"marks":359,"text":360},"78dedee84f900",[],"I had my doubts. I was expecting a response demonstrating a widespread lack of awareness that a combined Ubuntu-Linux site would result in a larger, more successful community working together. Either that or an apathetic \"I don't care, merge them\" response. I got neither.",[],{"_key":363,"_type":65,"children":364,"markDefs":409,"style":85},"3cf484bc3009",[365,369,373,377,381,385,389,393,397,401,405],{"_key":366,"_type":69,"marks":367,"text":368},"3cf484bc30090",[],"What I got was a persuasive and weighty series of arguments describing why the Ubuntu community ",{"_key":370,"_type":69,"marks":371,"text":372},"3cf484bc30091",[138],"had",{"_key":374,"_type":69,"marks":375,"text":376},"3cf484bc30092",[]," to be separate from the Linux site. The respondents were ",{"_key":378,"_type":69,"marks":379,"text":380},"3cf484bc30093",[138],"not",{"_key":382,"_type":69,"marks":383,"text":384},"3cf484bc30094",[]," worried about the ",{"_key":386,"_type":69,"marks":387,"text":388},"3cf484bc30095",[138],"technical",{"_key":390,"_type":69,"marks":391,"text":392},"3cf484bc30096",[]," topics they had in common. They were more concerned that the ",{"_key":394,"_type":69,"marks":395,"text":396},"3cf484bc30097",[138],"audiences",{"_key":398,"_type":69,"marks":399,"text":400},"3cf484bc30098",[]," would use the site differently. The Ubuntu users stated unequivocally that a Linux site held no value for them and they would not use it. Not ",{"_key":402,"_type":69,"marks":403,"text":404},"3cf484bc30099",[138],"all",{"_key":406,"_type":69,"marks":407,"text":408},"3cf484bc300910",[]," of them, but a significant portion responded with this assessment:",[],{"_key":411,"_type":65,"children":412,"markDefs":417,"style":85},"adc02fed1b9e",[413],{"_key":414,"_type":69,"marks":415,"text":416},"adc02fed1b9e0",[],"I'm paraphrasing...",[],{"_key":419,"_type":65,"children":420,"markDefs":429,"style":353},"982245eb23eb",[421,425],{"_key":422,"_type":69,"marks":423,"text":424},"982245eb23eb0",[],"Dear Stack Exchange Team,\n\n\n\nUbuntu is an end-user operating system used by everyday people who are not typically interested in hacking around a kernel, nor configuring a large collection of tools, projects and packages, nor citing documentation references and command line arguments. The Linux proposal, in comparison, explicitly targets \"advanced users,\" in which I have no interest.\n\n\n\nIn short, we need our own space. Thank you.\n\n\n\n",{"_key":426,"_type":69,"marks":427,"text":428},"982245eb23eb1",[138],"Ubuntu Supporter",[],{"_key":431,"_type":65,"children":432,"markDefs":437,"style":116},"e96d4cec6737",[433],{"_key":434,"_type":69,"marks":435,"text":436},"e96d4cec67370",[],"Where The Ubuntu-Linux Difference Matters",[],{"_key":439,"_type":65,"children":440,"markDefs":462,"style":85},"a7d786b3f31a",[441,445,450,454,459],{"_key":442,"_type":69,"marks":443,"text":444},"a7d786b3f31a0",[],"Agree or not with the technical assessment, we faced one incontrovertible fact: A site is not much good to a group of users if they will not show up. We could argue semantics and technology all day -- Ubuntu is still Linux; a Harley is still a motorcycle; vegetarians cook the same way as everyone else; ",{"_key":446,"_type":69,"marks":447,"text":449},"a7d786b3f31a1",[448],"87472ede1a2b","graduate-level mathematicians",{"_key":451,"_type":69,"marks":452,"text":453},"a7d786b3f31a2",[]," use the same numbers as ",{"_key":455,"_type":69,"marks":456,"text":458},"a7d786b3f31a3",[457],"1006ea463837","the rest of us",{"_key":460,"_type":69,"marks":461,"text":151},"a7d786b3f31a4",[],[463,465],{"_key":448,"_type":83,"href":464,"reference":12},"http:\u002F\u002Fmathoverflow.com",{"_key":457,"_type":83,"href":466,"reference":12},"http:\u002F\u002Fmath.stackexchange.com",{"_key":468,"_type":65,"children":469,"markDefs":474,"style":85},"965f30fd8f6b",[470],{"_key":471,"_type":69,"marks":472,"text":473},"965f30fd8f6b0",[],"It was inescapably clear that a site about \"Linux\" simply held no interest to a very large group of users who identify themselves as \"Ubuntu users.\"",[],{"_key":476,"_type":53,"alt":12,"asset":477,"caption":182,"markDefs":12},"de3ba12e77c6",{"_ref":478,"_type":56},"image-698722b382c46257cb509e3f7e264fc33da0389b-300x247-png",{"_key":480,"_type":65,"children":481,"markDefs":503,"style":85},"b9f3e220a138",[482,486,491,495,499],{"_key":483,"_type":69,"marks":484,"text":485},"b9f3e220a1380",[],"So we now have an ",{"_key":487,"_type":69,"marks":488,"text":490},"b9f3e220a1381",[489],"ecb4178fde1a","Ubuntu site",{"_key":492,"_type":69,"marks":493,"text":494},"b9f3e220a1382",[]," and a ",{"_key":496,"_type":69,"marks":497,"text":235},"b9f3e220a1383",[498],"41bf791102cf",{"_key":500,"_type":69,"marks":501,"text":502},"b9f3e220a1384",[],", both doing well.",[504,505],{"_key":489,"_type":83,"href":115,"reference":12},{"_key":498,"_type":83,"href":127,"reference":12},{"_key":507,"_type":65,"children":508,"markDefs":530,"style":85},"7dea1a11455f",[509,513,518,522,526],{"_key":510,"_type":69,"marks":511,"text":512},"7dea1a11455f0",[],"I don't know if there is a general rule to be derived from this case study. I'm still a big fan of the larger sites. I'm wary of encouraging smaller, focused sites when a larger group stands to benefit from their combined resources. ",{"_key":514,"_type":69,"marks":515,"text":517},"7dea1a11455f1",[516],"2c74debd2e5d","Stackoverflow.com",{"_key":519,"_type":69,"marks":520,"text":521},"7dea1a11455f2",[]," is a testament to how well diverse communities can pool their resources when they have a common goal; in this case, writing better code. Maybe that's a criteria which binds a community together: ",{"_key":523,"_type":69,"marks":524,"text":525},"7dea1a11455f3",[163],"do they have common goals?",{"_key":527,"_type":69,"marks":528,"text":529},"7dea1a11455f4",[]," Stack Overflow didn't split off into a .NET site, a PHP site, a C# site, a Java site, etc... and we're better off for the experience.",[531],{"_key":516,"_type":83,"href":532,"reference":12},"http:\u002F\u002Fstackoverflow.com",{"_key":534,"_type":65,"children":535,"markDefs":565,"style":85},"ed6730e6dfb0",[536,540,545,549,553,557,561],{"_key":537,"_type":69,"marks":538,"text":539},"ed6730e6dfb00",[],"When defining the boundaries of your ",{"_key":541,"_type":69,"marks":542,"text":544},"ed6730e6dfb01",[543],"8de4c278d37a","favorite Q&A; proposal",{"_key":546,"_type":69,"marks":547,"text":548},"ed6730e6dfb02",[],", consider these two watershed examples: Unix and Ubuntu. Maybe there's a quality that you see in ",{"_key":550,"_type":69,"marks":551,"text":552},"ed6730e6dfb03",[138],"one",{"_key":554,"_type":69,"marks":555,"text":556},"ed6730e6dfb04",[]," of those systems that will help you decide what type of community ",{"_key":558,"_type":69,"marks":559,"text":560},"ed6730e6dfb05",[138],"you",{"_key":562,"_type":69,"marks":563,"text":564},"ed6730e6dfb06",[]," want to emulate. But don't ask my evil counterpart; he's too busy writing a blog post called \"Ubuntu Users are Stupid for Not Liking my Mega Unix Site.\"",[566],{"_key":543,"_type":83,"href":104,"reference":12},true,"2010\u002F08\u002F14",{"code":570,"language":571},"\u003Cp>Update: we ultimately \u003Ca href=\"http:\u002F\u002Fblog.stackoverflow.com\u002F2010\u002F08\u002Fshould-unix-linux-and-ubuntu-be-merged-vote\u002F\">put this to a vote\u003C\u002Fa> on each community.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Chr>\u003Cp>You may have noticed that two similar \u003Ca href=\"http:\u002F\u002Farea51.stackexchange.com\">Area 51\u003C\u002Fa> site proposals have reached commitment and launched betas:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Ch2>\u003Ca href=\"http:\u002F\u002Fubuntu.stackexchange.com\">ubuntu.stackexchange.com\u003C\u002Fa>\u003C\u002Fh2>\n\u003Ch2>\u003Ca href=\"http:\u002F\u002Funix.stackexchange.com\">unix.stackexchange.com\u003C\u002Fa>\u003C\u002Fh2>\n\u003Cp>You might well ask: \u003Cem>aren't these the very same thing?\u003C\u002Fem> Why have two communities on the same topic? What, then, is the difference between unix and ubuntu? The answer to this question cuts to the very heart of what community \u003Cem>is\u003C\u002Fem>.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I sometimes wonder what Stack Exchange would look like in an alternate universe; one where we, as Evil Stack Overflow Inc., \u003Cstrong>bypassed the community-process of Area 51 and came up with our \u003Cem>own\u003C\u002Fem> site ideas\u003C\u002Fstrong>; a series of logical subjects, neatly organized into their own Q&A sites.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\u003Cimg src=\"http:\u002F\u002Fstackoverflow.blog\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2017\u002F02\u002Fspock-vs-evil-spock.jpg\" alt=\"\">\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As Evil Stack Overflow, Inc, would the process be faster and more efficient? Would the network be better organized with less overlap? That's how I \u003Cem>originally\u003C\u002Fem> envisioned Stack Exchange; we would come up with ideas for sites, find the top experts in the field, and publicize them with our networking savvy and irresistible charm.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Ch2>Ubuntu: One for the Community\u003C\u002Fh2>\n\u003Cp>My evil counterpart (the one in that alternate universe) would have never have even \u003Cem>considered\u003C\u002Fem> creating a site for \u003Ca href=\"http:\u002F\u002Fubuntu.stackexchange.com\">Ubuntu\u003C\u002Fa>, separate from the larger scope of a \u003Ca href=\"http:\u002F\u002Funix.stackexchange.com\">Unix & Linux site\u003C\u002Fa>. They are essentially the same technology. Surely it is better — or so my evil counterpart would have thought — to combine the resources of Ubuntu and Linux users into a larger site, organized with tags, and everybody would win. \u003Cstrong>And that would have been disastrous.\u003C\u002Fstrong>\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The speed of Ubuntu's progress should have been my first clue. Despite being proposed nearly two weeks \u003Cem>after\u003C\u002Fem> the Linux site, Ubuntu raced past Linux, reaching full commitment in a nearly-record-breaking 38 days.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Ctable cellpadding=\"1\" width=\"400\" cellspacing=\"1\">\u003Ctr>\u003Ctd>Web Applications\n\u003C\u002Ftd>\u003Ctd>36 days\u003C\u002Ftd>\u003C\u002Ftr>\u003Ctr>\u003Ctd>Gaming\n\u003C\u002Ftd>\u003Ctd>36 days\u003C\u002Ftd>\u003C\u002Ftr>\u003Ctr>\u003Ctd>Ubuntu\n\u003C\u002Ftd>\u003Ctd>38 days\u003C\u002Ftd>\u003C\u002Ftr>\u003Ctr>\u003Ctd>Food and Cooking\n\u003C\u002Ftd>\u003Ctd>41 days\u003C\u002Ftd>\u003C\u002Ftr>\u003Ctr>\u003Ctd>Game Development\n\u003C\u002Ftd>\u003Ctd>41 days\u003C\u002Ftd>\u003C\u002Ftr>\u003Ctr>\u003Ctd>Pro Webmasters\n\u003C\u002Ftd>\u003Ctd>44 days\u003C\u002Ftd>\u003C\u002Ftr>\u003Ctr>\u003Ctd>Photography\n\u003C\u002Ftd>\u003Ctd>47 days\u003C\u002Ftd>\u003C\u002Ftr>\u003Ctr>\u003Ctd>Mathematics\n\u003C\u002Ftd>\u003Ctd>48 days\u003C\u002Ftd>\u003C\u002Ftr>\u003Ctr>\u003Ctd>Electronic Gadgets\n\u003C\u002Ftd>\u003Ctd>51 days\u003C\u002Ftd>\u003C\u002Ftr>\u003Ctr>\u003Ctd>GIS\n\u003C\u002Ftd>\u003Ctd>54 days\u003C\u002Ftd>\u003C\u002Ftr>\u003Ctr>\u003Ctd>TeX\n\u003C\u002Ftd>\u003Ctd>55 days\u003C\u002Ftd>\u003C\u002Ftr>\u003Ctr>\u003Ctd>User Interface\n\u003C\u002Ftd>\u003Ctd>55 days\u003C\u002Ftd>\u003C\u002Ftr>\u003Ctr>\u003Ctd>Statistical Analysis\n\u003C\u002Ftd>\u003Ctd>55 days\u003C\u002Ftd>\u003C\u002Ftr>\u003Ctr>\u003Ctd>Home Improvement\n\u003C\u002Ftd>\u003Ctd>63 days\u003C\u002Ftd>\u003C\u002Ftr>\u003Ctr>\u003Ctd>Personal Finance and Money\n\u003C\u002Ftd>\u003Ctd>65 days\u003C\u002Ftd>\u003C\u002Ftr>\u003Ctr>\u003Ctd>English Language & Usage\n\u003C\u002Ftd>\u003Ctd>67 days\u003C\u002Ftd>\u003C\u002Ftr>\u003Ctr>\u003Ctd>WordPress Answers\n\u003C\u002Ftd>\u003Ctd>71 days\u003C\u002Ftd>\u003C\u002Ftr>\u003C\u002Ftable>\u003Cp>I thought, \"Surely there is something going horribly wrong with the process.\"  Perhaps the Ubuntu users simply did not see the Linux proposal. Or maybe they didn't understand how well the larger community would scale or how well tagging worked. I had written the blog post \"\u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fblog.stackexchange.com\u002F2010\u002F06\u002Farea-51-trusting-the-community\u002F\">Trust the Community\u003C\u002Fa>\" barely a month before, but still I had my doubts that Area 51 was working in this case. The proposal process is still lacking somewhat in meta communications, especially \u003Cem>between\u003C\u002Fem> proposals. Maybe that was it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Ch2>Does Area 51 Still Work?\u003C\u002Fh2>\n\u003Cp>When it was clear that both the Unix and Ubuntu proposals were both moving forward, we decided to step outside the typical Area 51 process and email (at random) a few dozen Ubuntu supporters \u003Cstrong>asking \u003Cem>why\u003C\u002Fem> they committed to the Ubuntu proposal and not the Linux proposal\u003C\u002Fstrong>:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cblockquote>\n\u003Cp>Dear Ubuntu Supporter,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>We are about to launch the Area 51 proposal for \"Ubuntu\":\n\u003Ca href=\"http:\u002F\u002Farea51.stackexchange.com\u002Fproposals\u002F7716\u002Fubuntu\">area51.stackexchange.com\u002Fproposals\u002F7716\u002Fubuntu\u003C\u002Fa>.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But before we launch it, there has been a bit of discussion about whether members would be interested in merging it into a more generic Unix\u002FLinux site. We are looking at whether more needs to be done to make sure the community is getting what they want or is the Ubuntu proposal ready to go as-is.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\u003Cem>Stack Exchange Team\u003C\u002Fem>\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003C\u002Fblockquote>\n\u003Cp>I had my doubts.  I was expecting a response demonstrating a widespread lack of awareness that a combined Ubuntu-Linux site would result in a larger, more successful community working together. Either that or an apathetic \"I don't care, merge them\" response.  I got neither.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What I got was a persuasive and weighty series of arguments describing why the Ubuntu community \u003Cem>had\u003C\u002Fem> to be separate from the Linux site. The respondents were \u003Cem>not\u003C\u002Fem> worried about the \u003Cem>technical\u003C\u002Fem> topics they had in common. They were more concerned that the \u003Cem>audiences\u003C\u002Fem> would use the site differently. The Ubuntu users stated unequivocally that a Linux site held no value for them and they would not use it. Not \u003Cem>all\u003C\u002Fem> of them, but a significant portion responded with this assessment:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I'm paraphrasing...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cblockquote>\n\u003Cp>Dear Stack Exchange Team,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ubuntu is an end-user operating system used by everyday people who are not typically interested in hacking around a kernel, nor configuring a large collection of tools, projects and packages, nor citing documentation references and command line arguments. The Linux proposal, in comparison, explicitly targets \"advanced users,\" in which I have no interest.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In short, we need our own space. Thank you.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\u003Cem>Ubuntu Supporter\u003C\u002Fem>\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003C\u002Fblockquote>\n\u003Ch2>Where The Ubuntu-Linux Difference Matters\u003C\u002Fh2>\n\u003Cp>Agree or not with the technical assessment, we faced one incontrovertible fact: A site is not much good to a group of users if they will not show up. We could argue semantics and technology all day -- Ubuntu is still Linux; a Harley is still a motorcycle; vegetarians cook the same way as everyone else; \u003Ca href=\"http:\u002F\u002Fmathoverflow.com\">graduate-level mathematicians\u003C\u002Fa> use the same numbers as \u003Ca href=\"http:\u002F\u002Fmath.stackexchange.com\">the rest of us\u003C\u002Fa>.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was inescapably clear that a site about \"Linux\" simply held no interest to a very large group of users who identify themselves as \"Ubuntu users.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\u003Cimg src=\"http:\u002F\u002Fstackoverflow.blog\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2017\u002F02\u002FLinux-Motivational.png\" alt=\"\">\u003Cimg src=\"http:\u002F\u002Fstackoverflow.blog\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2017\u002F02\u002FUbuntu-Motivational.png\" alt=\"\">\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So we now have an \u003Ca href=\"http:\u002F\u002Fubuntu.stackexchange.com\">Ubuntu site\u003C\u002Fa> and a \u003Ca href=\"http:\u002F\u002Funix.stackexchange.com\">Unix & Linux site\u003C\u002Fa>, both doing well.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I don't know if there is a general rule to be derived from this case study. I'm still a big fan of the larger sites. I'm wary of encouraging smaller, focused sites when a larger group stands to benefit from their combined resources.  \u003Ca href=\"http:\u002F\u002Fstackoverflow.com\">Stackoverflow.com\u003C\u002Fa> is a testament to how well diverse communities can pool their resources when they have a common goal; in this case, writing better code. Maybe that's a criteria which binds a community together: \u003Cstrong>do they have common goals?\u003C\u002Fstrong> Stack Overflow didn't split off into a .NET site, a PHP site, a C# site, a Java site, etc... and we're better off for the experience.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When defining the boundaries of your \u003Ca href=\"http:\u002F\u002Farea51.stackexchange.com\">favorite Q&A; proposal\u003C\u002Fa>, consider these two watershed examples: Unix and Ubuntu. Maybe there's a quality that you see in \u003Cem>one\u003C\u002Fem> of those systems that will help you decide what type of community \u003Cem>you\u003C\u002Fem> want to emulate. But don't ask my evil counterpart; he's too busy writing a blog post called \"Ubuntu Users are Stupid for Not Liking my Mega Unix Site.\"\u003C\u002Fp>","html","2010-08-14T12:00:00.000Z",{"current":574},"unix-and-ubuntu-why-both",[576,584,589],{"_createdAt":577,"_id":578,"_rev":579,"_type":580,"_updatedAt":577,"slug":581,"title":583},"2023-05-23T16:43:21Z","wp-tagcat-area51","9HpbCsT2tq0xwozQfkc4ih","blogTag",{"current":582},"area51","Area51",{"_createdAt":577,"_id":585,"_rev":579,"_type":580,"_updatedAt":577,"slug":586,"title":588},"wp-tagcat-company",{"current":587},"company","Company",{"_createdAt":577,"_id":590,"_rev":579,"_type":580,"_updatedAt":577,"slug":591,"title":593},"wp-tagcat-stackexchange",{"current":592},"stackexchange","Stackexchange","Unix and Ubuntu: Why Both?",[596,602,608,614],{"_id":597,"publishedAt":598,"slug":599,"sponsored":12,"title":601},"76c9771b-34e6-4d98-8641-ecefc711f0ef","2026-07-06T15:23:34.559Z",{"_type":10,"current":600},"when-the-sensor-starts-thinking-snortml-agentic-ai-and-the-evolving-architecture-of-intrusion-detection","When the sensor starts thinking: SnortML, agentic AI, and the evolving architecture of intrusion detection",{"_id":603,"publishedAt":604,"slug":605,"sponsored":12,"title":607},"28e560af-f0aa-4d46-bd90-f435ad604aa7","2026-06-26T14:00:27.102Z",{"_type":10,"current":606},"paging-charity-how-can-engineering-leaders-avoid-becoming-bond-villains","Paging Charity! How can engineering leaders avoid becoming Bond villains?",{"_id":609,"publishedAt":610,"slug":611,"sponsored":12,"title":613},"4b22c2a3-3779-4966-93eb-5230391dbdce","2026-06-23T14:08:58.595Z",{"_type":10,"current":612},"your-ai-shipped-a-backend-that-boots-that-is-the-whole-problem","Your AI shipped a backend that boots. That is the whole problem.",{"_id":615,"publishedAt":616,"slug":617,"sponsored":12,"title":619},"5cf362e1-fe7b-45af-b69c-914731c6a052","2026-06-23T14:00:00.000Z",{"_type":10,"current":618},"the-2026-developer-survey-is-now-open-for-human-developers-only","The 2026 Developer Survey is now open (for human developers only)!",{"data":621,"sourceMap":-1},{"count":622,"lastTimestamp":12},0]